Southern African Confederacy
The Southern African Confederacy (Southern Africa or SAC) is a confederation located primarily within the generally-accepted region of Southern Africa. It takes up the entirety of the former nations of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Angola. The Confederacy was formed on 30 April 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected the first democratic president of South Africa, after years of white minority rule. Although somewhat unexpected, there have been prior talks among the leaders of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho to merge into one country, however, these talks took place in a largely secret setting. Four days after the general election, President Mandela announced that the new Southern African Confederacy was to be created to save free-Southern Africa from the now defunct-Kubwa Dola. The capital of the SAC is located within the Capital District of Gauteng. The SAC, being a somewhat uncommon type of nation, currently takes the form of a quasi-confederate republic. Its first general election took place along with the establishment of the Confederacy, in April 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president. Kefentse Gabya currently holds that office. What currently binds the SAC as one organization, is their unified military - one of the most rapid expanding armed services in the world. History Prelude (1986-1994) Eight years before South Africa's first democratic election, the old South African "Apartheid regime" government was becoming more weary of Kubwa Dola. Besides protests and chaos at home, the South African government concluded that a plan had to be made to halt the Dolarians and create a counterbalance in Africa. Although South Africa at that time, and in recent years remained the strongest force in Africa second to Egypt and Kubwa Dola, the government at the time suspected that Kubwa Dola would only become stronger and more radical. While the government was being eased out of power, secret meetings were held with opposition groups throughout Southern Africa with leaders of other countries. Lesotho and Swaziland, both having somewhat failing economies, quickly embraced the idea of uniting, however were weary of losing their monarchies. This led to the creation of a confederate system which allowed for much autonomy within member nations. When the plan was presented again to Lesotho and Swaziland, they accepted. Zimbabwe, however, was a much tougher case. Dictator Robert Mugabe literally laughed at the idea and had the agents escorted from his country, while Namibia and Botswana actually considered the idea. Mozambique, like Zimbabwe, did not embrace the idea. In 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison and the African National Congress unbanned as a political party in South Africa. This led to some delays in the plan. The National Party and the ANC, during their meetings for a smooth transition to a democratic South Africa, also further discussed the idea of the SA Confederacy. In 1991, Botswana approached the South African government and stated it would be interested in such a unification, which led to the ANC and NP resuming talks after a few month delay. In 1992, with Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho firmly part of the plan, Namibia, succumbing to pressure from its surrounding governments, also reluctantly joined. Zimbabwe and Mozambique's role in the now named "Southern African Confederacy" would be delayed. In early January 1993, two large, SAC-staged rebellions took place in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This led to chaos, as the president of Mozambique was almost killed during the first week of the rebellion. A state of emergency was declared in both countries days later, however, as the rebels saw this coming, fortified the territories they already controlled - most of southern and central Zimbabwe, and most of southern Mozambique. Matabeleland quickly declared independence and elected Goodman Kani as its first leader. It was later confirmed that Kani was in fact pro-SAC. After rumors spread that the SAC had planned the rebellions, Dictator Robert Mugabe extremely reluctantly re-approached the SAC for further talks. Although Kubwa Dola and Zimbabwe were relatively close allies, Mugabe, fearing for his life, stated if the SAC were to become a reality, he would have the remainder of Zimbabwe join. Mugabe's deputy at the time, who was also secretly pro-SAC, was quickly elected as President of Zimbabwe. Mozambique fell days later. This completed all territorial claims for the SAC, and leaders were now instructed to secretly start expanding their militaries. Formation (1995-2012) By 26 April 1994, the first democratic election in South Africa took place, with the African National Congress and its candidate, Nelson Mandela, winning with an overwhelming majority. President Mandela announced and declared the Southern African Confederacy only four days later, on 30 April. The military had secretly expanded substantially, with the new-South African National Defense Force having been the most successful. The Shadow Government of South Africa, controlled by the Democratic Alliance, were sent to member nations throughout the month to assist local leaders with the transition. The first public signs of the Southern African Confederacy were reported on 4 June 1994, when the hours-old Southern African Armed Forces deployed to the Two Kilo Buffer, which was the border between Kubwa Dola and the SAC. Around 150,000 troops were initially deployed, with the more than 500,000 extra deploying in the following weeks. Each "constituent" country became a confederate division with its own subdivisions remaining what they were prior to the declaration. The SAC would accept Nelson Mandela as its provisional leader until a confederation-wide election can be held in November of the same year. In a highly unexpected move in May 1997, the Kubwa Dola empire was disbanded. Parliament announced that it would annex the territories of Zambia, Malawi, and Angola. The annexations boosted the SAC's economy considerably and more than doubled its population. With the Two Kilo Buffer now no longer existing, it has been turned into a monument of what people could achieve when threatened by tyranny: over six-hundred thousand troops mobilized in less than three days and garrisoned the border, with hundreds of thousands more pouring in. BORCOM (Border Command) now exists as a much smaller combatant command, tasked with managing and patrolling the SAC's new borders, in contrast to how it existed before Kubwa Dola was disbanded, as the largest administrative command. The Reeducation and Reintegration Bureau was founded shortly afterwards, and aims to have Dolarians rejoin society not as bloodthirsty, violent people. Reeducation camps have been set up to deal with the more complex Dolarians, to undo decades worth of indoctrination. Between 2007 and 2012, the confederate government declared more confederate divisions, mostly based around culture and mutual interests. The Republic of South Africa was completely divided between several new states. Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana also had their borders and territory changed. The move was well-received by the population. Politics and government Main article: Politics and government of the SAC The Southern African Confederacy's politics take place within the framework of a confederacy. The SAC basically only deals with the defense and foreign affairs aspects of each confederate division. A unified currency has however been created for standardization, but confederate divisions are free to have their own as well, limited to their respective region. The President is elected every five years and acts as an administrator - an "inspector general" of sorts for the confederacy. Because of the loose binding within the Confederacy, the legislature is somewhat ceremonial and small considering the size of the SAC. The Parliament consists of 100 elected members. Only one judicial entity exists on confederate level, being the Supreme Court, which hears cases of treason and government corruption. Administrative divisions Main article: Administrative divisions of the SAC The Southern African Confederacy, being a confederation, allows its second-level administrative divisions more autonomy than a federation or centralized state. Each confederate division of the SAC holds its own presidential and legislative elections and has the power to form its own territorial militias. Each division is then allowed to have subdivisions within itself as it sees fit. Military Main article: Southern African Armed Forces The Southern African Armed Forces (SA-AF) is the unified military force of the Southern African Confederacy. The commander-in-chief of the SA-AF is the President of the Southern African Confederacy and appoints the Chief of Defense Staff. The role of the SA-AF, in contrast with many other armed forces, was prior to 12 August 2012 purely to protect the territory of the SAC from foreign invasion - most notably from Kubwa Dola. However, since Kubwa Dola's dissolution, the SA-AF has been tasked with several peacekeeping missions around Africa and acting as a much-needed police force throughout the Confederacy. Territorial militias are responsible for responding to domestic threats and do not form as part of the SA-AF. These independent militias can however be asked by Parliament to assist the SA-AF. Foreign relations Kubwa Dola (April 1994 - May 1997) The relation between the Southern African Confederacy and Kubwa Dola were inherently bad. The entire idea behind the creation of the Confederacy was because of Kubwa Dola's radical militaristic policies and rapid expansion throughout Africa. The creation of the SAC and the unification of its military placed an obstacle in the way of the Dolarian military, as was its purpose. Kubwa Dola claimed the entirety of the Southern African Confederacy to be part of its territory, however there was never any real Dolarian presence, as the borders between the two nations have been reported to be one of the most militarized zones in the world. With Kubwa Dola's demise on 17 May 1997, and several of its sectors being incorporated into the SAC, the Bureau for Dolarian Affairs became defunct, and merged with the Reeducation and Reintegration Bureau. Economy The economy of the Southern African Confederacy is the largest in Africa. The economy of the SAC itself is a difficult concept because of the country's political system: each confederate division has a relatively independent economy, with a few exceptions. The Confederate Revenue Service is a notable example of this. While divisions are able to tax their citizens, all Southern Africans must also pay value added tax and the richest portion of the population must pay income tax to the confederate government. Certain aspects of the defense industry have been nationalized for national security reasons, however, economic spokespersons have stated that the SAC is not moving toward a communist system. The SAC is part of the World Trade Organization, the G-20, and takes part in some of the AU's economic programs. Some of the SAC's largest exports are oil and gas, diamonds, wool, platinum and foodstuffs. Culture Like before the formation of the Southern African Confederacy, Southern Africa is known for its cultural diversity. Prior to the SAC, several division had a fully functioning film industries. Cuisine in Southern Africa is heavily meat-based. Oddly enough, before the formation of the SAC, nations in Southern Africa were heavily integrated in terms of cuisine. Pap, vetkoek and mielies (corn) are three notable examples. Citizens of Zimbabwe, prior to the SAC, mostly lived on food stamps. Religion Christianity, without a doubt, dominates the religious arena within the Southern African Confederacy, followed by transitional African beliefs and Atheism. The region-popular Dolarian Church is still allowed to exist even after the dissolution of Kubwa Dola, but is prohibited from preaching any hate or warmongering. See also *Politics and government of the SAC category:SA Confederacy